11/06/2011

Greece and the future of the eurozone

Despite efforts by European leaders to solve the euro crisis, fresh doubts have surfaced about the eurozone's viability.

Early on the morning of October 27, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicholas Sarkozy announced what was supposed to be the long-promised comprehensive master plan to solve the euro crisis.

The idea was for world leaders from the G20 to meet - thus drawing a line under the crisis, and providing stability and certainty for the markets.

Instead, that meeting ended up being overshadowed by George Papandreou, the Greek prime minister, calling - and then cancelling - a referendum on the plan. That pushed stocks around the world into the red and raised fresh doubts about the viability of the eurozone.

So, what is next for the troubled eurozone?

Inside Story, with presenter James Bays, discusses with guests: Titika Maria Saratsi, a chief editor of the News For You programme at ERT Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation; Alexander Marguier, an editor at online political culture magazine Cicero; and Georgi Gotev, a senior editor at Euractiv.com.
"Greece invented the word 'democracy' and I think we should be confident that the political class in Greece will handle this problem responsibly. I think that the most difficult moments are behind us."